Developer Week in Review: iPhone 5 is still on hold

Waiting for iPhone 5, patent madness continues, and the geeks will soon descend on New York.

Ah, a new school year. It’s the time when my wife disappears into her office, not to be seen again until the late spring unless she sees her shadow. My son is grumbling about 60-question math homework assignments, and all the melancholy I feel during the summer about being the only family member on the clock fades away since I actually have the lightest schedule now. Revenge is sweet …

If you’ve been in a late-summer haze, here’s a few items you may have missed.

Bigfoot sighted using iPhone 5

The predictions in August were that the iPhone 5 (or 4S, or whatever it’s going to be called) would be announced in early September. Then it was going to be mid-September, and now people are talking about early October. Now, I’m as much of an Apple fanboy as the next guy, but this obsession about the new phone seems to border on the absurd. I’ve only had my iPhone 4 for a year — I’m not even sure I would upgrade to a 5 unless it cures cancer or something.

The only real reason to speculate about the iPhone 5 ship date is that it will probably coincide with the general release of iOS 5, which definitely is something to talk about, if only to other people who have signed the developer NDA. I mean the … no, I can’t talk about that. But the … no, can’t mentioned that either. Anyway, it’s wicked cool, trust me.

Your comprehensive legal roundup

Last week, everyone sued everyone. This item will repeat for the foreseeable future.

Of particular interest is that HTC is using patents acquired from Google to strike back at Apple. The patent war is becoming reminiscent of the Cuban Missile Crisis — I expect to hear a statement from Oracle HQ any day reporting a suspected transfer of patents from Apple to Google and vowing a blockade unless the lawyers turn back at once.

The Makers are coming, the Makers are coming!

For those who live on the East Coast, your annual chance to get your geek on is coming up next weekend. Maker Faire New York will be returning for a second year at the NY Hall of Science, and it’s well worth the trip. I went with my son last year, and we’ll be back this year as well.

It’s a great chance to see programming integrating with the physical world on a much more practical (or impractical) level than developers are accustomed to. If you’ve spent your life designing ecommerce websites, it can be refreshing to see a pair of honking-big computer-controlled Tesla coils blaring out music. It’s also a Mecca for embedded computing and micro controllers, so if you like programming on the small scale, you’ll see a lot to enjoy. If you happen to run into me there, say hi!

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